Monthly Archives: October 2014

Important business people read the Forbes Magazine.It is the #1 magazine with them, equal to theWall Street Journal. There was an article about aNTID graduate applying for a job. The article wastitled – Hiring Managers that behave badly. Themanager did not want to hire the deaf. He wentahead with the interview to show the world thathe does not “discriminate.” The interview was ajoke and a fake. The deaf person was not hired.DeafDigest hopes that NTID graduate was able tofind a better job elsewhere.

— using an interpreter during a crime

Could a deaf robber be using an interpreter whilecommitting a crime? Paul Coombs, a deaf criminalfrom Dundee, Scotland, broke into an apartmentto steal money from a victim. To communicatewith the victim, he used his interpreter, whojust followed him! Yes, he was arrested andsentenced to 14 months in jail. Did theinterpreter go to jail, as an accomplice?DeafDigest editor does not know.

— communicating with a robot

Could we communicate with a robot? Deaf peopleentering Orchard Supply Hardware store inSan Jose, California, will be greeted by arobot. How to communicate with a robot?This robot has a video that could communicatewith the deaf. Since Orchard Supply Hardwareis part of the Lowe’s chain, we probably willsee robots in every store in the near future.

DeafDigest mentioned few times that deaf councilwomanMarisa Salzer (Montesano, Washington) has been battlingthe city council for an interpreter for council meetings.The council refused but was forced to hire an interpreterunder orders of the Washington Human Rights Commission.Anyway, the council meeting started with an interpreterbut it stopped immediately few seconds later. Shecomplained of interpreter’s bad signing skills! Councilsaid interpreter is qualified. She said interpreter isnot certified.

— a real dumb deaf criminal

Many hearing criminals are dumb, the reason why copsfind it easy to catch them. We also have a few dumbdeaf criminals. Fouad Soussi, age 20, is deaf andis a dumb criminal. He was the top drug dealer onthe streets of West London, UK, and was caught whenhe posted online of his selfies. In these selfieshe was holding up bags of drugs. The judge sentencedhim to 5 years in prison.

— a deaf Halloween movie

Halloween is coming up and there are many horrormovies shown on TV. What is the best Deaf Halloweenmovie, and even also what is the craziest Halloweenmovie? It is Deafula, written, produced and directedby Peter Wolf, who also acted the Deafula role in 1975.

Said a critic:movie is black and white and contains no screamingvictims and no Transylvanian accents, and it is all-ASL,and it is strange that Deafula wears a big, plasticclownish nose!

In Fremont, Ohio, there is noise among deaf coffeedrinkers. Noise? It actually is NOISE, which standsfor Northern Ohio Interpreting Services and Education.NOISE is hosting this coffee event for the deaf forthe first time. Deaf and Noise?

— difficult to find deaf Gallaudet presidential candidates

Gallaudet has had these deaf presidents – Jordan, Davilaand Hurwitz. Easy to find a next deaf president toreplace Hurwitz who will be retiring? No. About 8years ago there was a survey to find a deaf candidateexperienced in higher education and with a doctorate.After looking for them in colleges all over the world,only 27 candidates could be identified! Very possiblyin 2015, this same small pool exists.

— apartment landlord forbids deaf residents

Could a landlord tell deaf people they are not allowedto reside in his apartment building? Discrimination?Yes, but it is happening in Nampa, Idaho! There is alawsuit that has involved the city mayor, the apartmentlandlord, the city fire marshall and the city deputy firemarshall. This discrimination against the deaf wasrevealed during this lawsuit discussions. A big messout there in Nampa.

More hospitals are aware of interpreting needsfor the deaf; they know where to find interpreters,and are also aware that many deaf people hateVideo Remote Interpreting. Yet, there is a hugecrisis. Many interpreters do not understandmedical terms; wrong signs on medical terms couldbe fatal for deaf patients. This was the issueraised by the NPR, a news distributor.

— Starbucks helping the deaf

A group of deaf people filed a lawsuit, accusingStarbucks of discriminating against the deaf.Starbucks is denying it and is fighting thelawsuit. Does Starbucks really help the deaf?In Great Britain, the Starbucks Community Fundhas donated funds for a deaf advocate so thatshe could give deaf awareness workshops atlocal social service agencies.

— a game for children to measure hearing or deafness

Sound Scouts, a small Australian company, has inventeda special game for children. The game has two purposes.First is for children to have fun and enjoy themselves.Second is for parents and teachers to find out ifthe child has a hearing loss or not. Not sure how itworks but it has something to do with childrenresponding to beeps that come up while playing.

Would a young hearing woman fake her deafness inorder to win the heart of a young hearing man?It happened in Kodiak, Alaska and it is partof the “My Crazy Love” TV series. It is notknown, however, if she has continued to fakeher deafness or if they are still datingeach other. Guess it happens in Alaska becausemates are hard to find, and competition isfierce!

— Derrick Coleman injured while warming up

Derrick Coleman, Seattle Seahawks, will playno more football this season. While warming upfor the game against St Louis Cardinals, hebroke his foot. It was not football that wasdangerous to him; it was just exercising hislegs that was dangerous! Hope he will recover100 percent and play again in 2015.

— sign language lessons in a newspaper

Have we ever read a newspaper, or even a newsletter,and turn to a page that has sign language lessons?The government of Miyoshi, a town in Japan, ispublishing sign language lessons in the communitynewsletter. The Japanese Federation of the Deafis happy about it.

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Deaf Smith, a deaf fighter, became famous for his battlesagainst Mexico in the early 19th century. In 1835, heclimbed on a big tree in Texas to spy on the movementsof Mexican soldiers. 179 years later, this famousbig tree that Deaf Smith climbed up, became weakbecause of lack of rain water in the area. This fallentree was on the list of Famous Trees of Texas. Thisis a big historical loss for Deaf Smith. See thepictures at:http://deafdigest.net/deaf-smith-climbed-on-that-tree/

— a different way for the deaf to vote on election day

A leader of the disabled has been urging the localelectoral group to allow the deaf to vote – in adifferent way. Instead of ballots listing thenames of candidates, pictures of candidates wouldbe shown. Why? Many deaf people can’t read andwould not know the candidates if they had toread their names on the ballot! It is not happeningin USA, but in Botswana, where many deaf peoplelack education.— free college tuition and fees for the deaf

College is expensive, but an investment for the future.Well, many young people cannot afford these college costsand as a result, either drop out or seek jobs that donot require a college education. Well, for the deafin Odisha, a state in India, the deaf will not paycollege costs. Just wish the same can be said forstudents attending Gallaudet and NTID.

Possibly for the first time in baseball history,the World Series has a real deaf connection.It is Dummy Taylor, whose first real name wasLuther. He pitched for the New York Giants inthe early 1900’s. The team later became San FranciscoGiants. He was born in Kansas, not too far fromKansas City, MO. As a pitcher, he was one of thebest during his time. And he invented signsthat the catchers and coaches still use these days.Did he ever pitch in the World Series? Unfortunately,no.

— a confession by a job placement specialist for the deaf

In a newspaper story, a job placement specialist, fromWisconsin, said hearing employers reject deaf about20 times before a deaf person is finally hired. Itis the same with successful deaf attorneys, deafengineers, deaf architects, deaf scientists, etc.They faced rejections, rejections and rejectionsbefore they were finally hired.

— ASL not important to a major magazine

Washingtonian is a major magazine that covers theWashington, DC metro area. A recent editiongave advice for readers that want to learn a newlanguage. The magazine suggested Arabic, Farsi,French, German, Greek, Italian, Mandarin, Russian,Spanish, Swahili. It did not suggest ASL? It isdisappointing because the deaf population in theWashington, DC metro area is one of the highestamong metro areas.

Anyway, DeafDigest received email from a proud deaf Australian,saying that Jim is a role model in the Deaf Community. Heexplained that discrimination is so bad against the deaf;many hearing people think deaf people cannot do anything,and that Jim is the living proof that the deaf can!

— the fourth Gallaudet football player to become a pro

It was announced that the Florida Blacktips of the newFall Experimental Football League has signed Gallaudet’sAdham Talaat to a contract. He makes his pro debut thisFriday against Boston Brawlers at Harvard Stadium.The past Gallaudet players who played pro football wereBilbo Monaghan, Memphis Tigers (1932); Ed Gobble,Virginia Sailors (1967) and Tony Tatum, Utah Blaze &Cleveland Gladiators (2013-2014). Adham’s new teammatesplayed at Oklahoma, UCLA, Miami, Nebraska, Missouri,Georgia, etc, these mighty NCAA football powers.

— most important deaf person in Microsoft

Who is the most important deaf person in Microsoft?It is Jenny Lay-Flurrie, leader of the Trusted ExperiencesTeam. What does she do? Responsible for accessibility,privacy, and online safety. If a deaf person cannot accessMicrosoft software, or has privacy invaded or feltthreatened by hackers online, then Jenny worries about it!